The responsibility of the Bank of the Republic of Burundi (BRB) in regard to compiling, processing, and disseminating statistics is clearly defined in its charter (Charter of the Bank of the Republic of Burundi, Law No. 1/34 of December 2, 2008). In particular, Article 68 of its charter provides:

The central bank may require banks, financial, microfinance institutions, and any other entity to provide any statistics or information it deems necessary to the performance of its missions. The bank may issue regulations governing the collection of this information.

The central bank shall be authorized to disseminate aggregate information and data relating to a given sector or the economy as a whole.

Although its charter does not specify the nature of data for which it is responsible, the BRB interprets it as providing it sufficient latitude to compile source data and prepare monetary and financial and balance of payments statistics.

More generally, pursuant to Article 2, paragraph a) of Law No. 1/17 of September 25, 2007 concerning the organization of the Burundi statistics system, the National Statistics System (SSN) is comprised of all public and quasi-public agencies and organizations that produce and disseminate statistical data. Accordingly, the Bank of the Republic of Burundi is part of the SSN and the activities of its statistics units and staff come under the legal framework governing statistics in Burundi.

The central bank uses data on external public debt prepared by the Ministry of Finance to prepare the balance of payments and net external position. It also disseminates macroeconomic statistics prepared by the Burundi Institute of Statistics and Economic Research (ISTEEBU) and the Ministry of Finance in its publications, including its Monthly Bulletin and Annual Report.

Under Article 22 of the Bank’s charter, financial institutions are required to provide all information relating to their financial operations and position to the bank. The bank is prohibited from disclosing, publishing, or providing access to confidential information or from using the information or allowing it to be used by other parties.

Under Article 64 of its charter, the central bank “shall publish a code of ethics, to which its personnel shall adhere, defining the values of honesty, trust, morality, and integrity in relations with its personnel and vis-à-vis the public.”

Article 5 of the BRB charter provides that it shall be “independent in the pursuit of its objectives and missions,” and that “no person or entity shall seek to influence the members of its decision-making bodies.”

The Central Bank conducts verifications of the statistical data it receives from the producing agencies. In the case that errors or omissions are observed, the Central Bank contacts the agencies directly for correction or rectification.

The statistics produced by the BRB are disseminated in its own publications. The BRB is designated as the source of statistics it produces that are published by other organizations (such as the ISTEEBU, in a Burundi Statistical Yearbook, or the Ministry of Planning and Local Development in its bulletin).

The Central Bank of Burundi changes its methodology and statistical techniques in order to be consistent with internationally accepted standards and methodologies, particularly for the balance of payments and monetary statistics. In addition to employing its administrative resources, the CBB plans to conduct investigations in order to improve the quality of its publications.

Under Article 64 of its charter, the central bank “shall publish a code of ethics, to which its personnel shall adhere, defining the values of honesty, trust, morality, and integrity in relations with its personnel and vis-à-vis the public.”

Without prejudice to applicable criminal provisions, BRB staff cannot be sued for acts performed in the course of their duties. However, the BRB may bring action against members of the staff who exceed their authority or act for the bank in bad faith (Article 65).

The Bank of the Republic of Burundi (BRB) prepares the consolidated financial survey for each month-end and disseminates it about eight weeks later. The analytical and methodological frameworks used are those recommended in the IMF Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual. The financial survey is presented in millions of Burundi francs.

The financial survey, published in the Bulletin mensuel (Monthly Survey), presents the consolidated stocks of assets and liabilities of the financial sector, comprising the central bank, the eight Burundi deposit banks, two financial institutions, and the post office banks (CCPs). A monetary survey covering only the BRB and the banks is also compiled.

The classification used for compilation of the financial survey, published in the Bulletin mensuel, is as follows:

Assets

Net foreign assets

Foreign assets

Foreign liabilities Net claims on the government

Claims

Loans and advances

Treasury bills

Treasury certificates

Other claims

Rescheduled claims

Liabilities

Government deposits

Local government deposits

Government agency deposits Claims on the economy

Claims on publicly-owned companies

Claims on the private sector

Liabilities

Current liabilities

Currency outside the financial system

Sight deposits

Quasi-money

Deposits and borrowings of financial institutions

Other items, net

The monetary survey uses a similar classification that consists of an item entitled "Currency" and its components, whereas the financial survey consists only of the components. In the monetary survey, foreign assets are presented on a net rather than gross basis.

The financial survey is compiled on the basis of the monthly accounting statements presented by all the banks and financial institutions operating in the country and the accounting statements of the BRB and the CCPs. The statements of the commercial banks and financial institutions are detailed enough to ensure accurate classification. General instructions are provided to the banks to help those reporting entities comply with the standards and classifications in effect.

The forms used by the banks and financial institutions for their statements are completed on the basis of their accounting information. The degree of detail in that information allows for specific reclassification of the accounting items into statistical items.

The accounting statements of the banks and financial institutions are available 20 days after the end of the month to which the financial survey relates. The accounting statements of the BRB are available two or three days after the end of the reference month.

Because the financial survey is compiled on the basis of the accounting statements of the banks and financial institutions involved, no statistical technique is necessary. Moreover, because all the Burundi banks and financial institutions covered compile accounting statements, there is no need whatever for sampling or estimations to complete coverage. Upon receipt, the statements are first checked for internal consistency, among other things.

The financial data are consistent with the balance of payments data; they use the same accounting sources. Indeed, this consistency exists by design, as the financial survey is used for compilation of the balance of payments.

The financial survey is presented in a table in the Bulletin mensuel of the BRB. It is accompanied by comments and tables, as well as additional analytical charts on the evolution of the money supply and its counterparts, in particular in the end-of-quarter editions of the Bulletin mensuel.

Although it produces monthly and annual publications, the CBB has not yet established a calendar for its various publications. However, the data to be reported to the IMF must be communicated within six weeks from the end of the reference period.

Although there is currently no in-depth technical memorandum on the sources and methods for compiling monetary and financial statistics, brief methodological notes accompany the publication of statistics in the Bulletin mensuel of the BRB.

The BRB Monthly Bulletin mentions the Research Department on its cover page, but neither the units that produce the bulletin nor their managers are identified as contacts that can provide additional information to the public.

There is a plan to integrate the microfinance institutions into the monetary and financial statistics produced by the BRB.

Notes:

Last posted: Date IMF staff last posted an update to these metadata on the DSBB. Last certified: Date subscriber last officially certified the accuracy of these metadata. Last updated: Date subscriber last submitted an update of these metadata to the IMF.